Just Friends
by Dragonsbane1611
Summary: (SH-NLG) Neville went to hang his jacket on the peg by the door and smiled. A light air of strawberries radiated from the sleeve she had held onto.


Note: This is part of a series of little bursts of Neville and Luna goodness (NLG), and all my NLG is backstory for the epic 'Supposed Happiness' by MoonCroww. If you want to fully understand the whole situation and future events … toddle over and check it out. Thanks. ~Lady Roxyeth, Dragonsbane  
  
Just Friends  
  
Sun.08.Feb.2004  
  
***  
  
"I'm meeting Ginny in Hogsmeade. Do you want to come with me?" Harry asked as his roommate walked past his bedroom. Neville peeked back into the room.  
  
"Isn't it a date? You don't want me hanging around," he stated, but Harry shook his head.  
  
"It's not a date, really. Luna's coming too, probably."  
  
Neville quirked an eyebrow.  
  
"I see."  
  
"You see what?" Harry inquired, standing and checking his appearance in the mirror.  
  
"You need me to entertain Luna so you and Ginny can have … 'alone time'."  
  
"It's not that at all. I was going to be meeting the girls and was wondering if you wanted to go. You don't have to, if you don't want to." Harry turned from the mirror and passed Neville on his way to the living room.  
  
"You're going now?"  
  
"Yeah; are you coming?"  
  
"Let me get my trainers and my jacket."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
She gave him a whimsical smile when they met on the street outside of Zonko's and he returned it. They followed Harry and Ginny to the Three Broomsticks and the four of them found a round table in a corner.  
  
"I'll get drinks," Neville offered, heading for the bar and coming back a few moments later with four butterbeers. Ginny's fingertips brushed his as he handed her a bottle and he blushed a little bit, thankful that neither she nor Harry were paying him any mind. "Here you go, Luna," he said, sitting down next to her.  
  
She took the drink and smiled.  
  
"Thank you. How's work going?"  
  
"I love it, really. I've been monitoring flitterblooms and devil's snare for a few days now."  
  
"The devil's snare has obviously not yet gotten the better of you, then?"  
  
"No, not yet," Neville chuckled. "How's school?"  
  
"N.E.W.T.s this and N.E.W.T.s that," Ginny cut in and Harry smiled.  
  
"Aren't you glad we're passed that, Neville?"  
  
"Oh, very much so," the other man sighed, nodding.  
  
"You helped me study for mine," Harry reminded his girlfriend, "Surely you'll do well. I'm confident in your … abilities." His hand moved under the table and Ginny flushed a little. Neville prayed the color wasn't rising in his own face and turned to Luna who, like him, was pretending not to notice anything as she sipped her butterbeer.  
  
She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Would you like to go for a walk?"  
  
Neville glanced at the couple across the table, now engaged in their own hushed conversation and smiled at the blonde next to him.  
  
"Sure," he agreed, standing and holding Luna's chair.  
  
"Are you leaving?" Ginny asked, eyeing them as Neville helped Luna into her jacket and zipping up his own.  
  
"Going for a walk," he answered.  
  
"You want to meet somewhere later?" Harry wanted to know.  
  
Neville looked at Luna and she shrugged, "We'll see you back at the gate to Hogwarts in a few hours or so."  
  
Ginny smiled at her classmate and Harry winked at Neville as they turned and started for the street. Once outside, they paused and looked up and down the road.  
  
"Which way do you want to go?" Neville asked his friend, taking note of the twinkle in her blue eyes.  
  
"Let's try this way," she replied, lightly tugging once on his jacket sleeve and taking a step. He walked beside her, hands in his pockets and she had her arms wrapped around herself, smiling into the cool breeze. They'd wandered away from the rest of the students and the buzz of the shopping district, finding themselves in a small neighborhood before either of them spoke.  
  
"How long have you liked Ginny?"  
  
Neville looked at her as they walked along.  
  
"A long time," he told her, honestly.  
  
She nodded, "Probably about as long as I've liked Harry."  
  
He paused and quirked an eyebrow.  
  
"What?" She stopped and returned his look.  
  
"I always thought it was Ron you were after."  
  
"He makes me laugh, but … his heart has never been unspoken for."  
  
Neville chuckled, "He'd never admit to that. Ron and Hermione? No," he joked.  
  
"His admiration for her only shines like the sun," she added.  
  
"Oh, is that what that is? I thought a cheering charm had gone awry."  
  
She laughed a little and linked her arm with his as they continued on. He smiled at her closeness and the fragrance of strawberries that emanated from her, always enjoying the time he spent with the enigma that was Luna Lovegood.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Neville and Harry apparated back to their apartment and flopped down on the couch. After a moment, Harry grinned at his friend and nudged him in the ribs.  
  
"You and Luna, then?"  
  
Neville made a face at him and shook his head.  
  
"No. We're just friends."  
  
"Don't lie. I saw you at the gate," Harry insisted, still grinning.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"You watched her walk all the way back up to the castle," he replied, and Neville remembered. Only he hadn't been watching Luna, really, but Harry didn't need to know that.  
  
"We're just friends."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
©2004 – Roxanne L. Martin, Writings From Behind The Red Door 


End file.
